Bakery with French name captures joie de vivre La Bonbonniere has been a staple of county for 55 years BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer PHOTOS BY KATHY CHANG The outside of La Bonbonniere's Cookie Jar on Amboy Avenue in Woodbridge. Owner Matthew D'Agostino acquired the location in 2003 and decided to keep the name Cookie Jar since the prior bakery was called the Cookie Jar for the past 50 years. WOODBRIDGE - Production at the La Bonbonniere Bake Shoppe starts bustling by 11 at night, and customers can get a whiff of the baked goods galore by 6 in the morning. The bake shop, which is on Route 27 in Edison, with its fitting French name has been in business since 1952. "The name means the holder of the sweets," said Matthew D'Agostino, who took over the business from his father, Paul, who passed away in 2001. "My grandfather, Matteo D'Agostino, bought a small bakery in Troy, N.Y., named La Bonbonniere Bake Shop in 1939. The name just stuck." Many other stores opened since 1952; however, today the D'Agostino family has four locations. The second La Bonbonniere Bake Shoppe opened in South Plainfield in 1977, a third store opened on Route 1 in Fords in 1982, and the newest addition, La Bonbonniere's Cookie Jar, opened on Amboy Avenue in Woodbridge in 2003. The many specialty treats are displayed the La Bonbonniere's Cookie Jar. "We decided to keep the name Cookie Jar since it has been the Cookie Jar for the past 50 years," said D'Agostino, who said his brother, Randy, manages the Cookie Jar. "We renovated the place and have put in an event room, which can seat up to 48 people. There is also a separate rear entrance to the room." D'Agostino said his staff is knowledgeable about their products and can provide customers with the answers they need. All the baking and bread making from scratch is done in the Edison store. "We could have decided to have production at the other stores; however, the cookies may be burnt at one store and not the other," said D'Agostino. "By having all the production done in the Edison store, we have more control on our products and what goes out to the other stores." D'Agostino, who is a certified master baker, said the store's motto has always been freshness and giving customers quality products. "We'd rather raise our prices if needed than lower the quality of our products," he said. D'Agostino said what makes their celebration cakes different from getting cakes at a big-box store is they use only pure and real heavy cream. The vanilla and chocolate custard is cooked in a steam kettle with real milk, sugar and the family's special ingredients. The custard is made fresh and is never bought or from a can with preservatives. The icings are mixed at the store. "Our strawberry and chocolate cakes are our most popular," he said. Customers have a vast array of sweets to lay their eyes on - from cupcakes, cookies and chocolate mousse tarts to mochaccino tortes and tiramisu tortes. Besides gourmet and decorated cakes, D'Agostino said they also make wedding cakes, and for children, the bakery can make signature cakes of either Disney's Winnie the Pooh or Princess Castle, Spider-Man, a NASCAR dashboard, Thomas and Friends Train or Dora's Star Adventure. D'Agostino said they also make homemade breads and rolls. "When I was growing up I loved Wonder bread because it's soft and squishy," he said. "I wasn't able to get it because my father made his own bread at the store. Now I like the hard-crusted bread. We started making the artisan bread, which has a holey texture and is a better quality bread; however, people started complaining about the mayonnaise coming out of the holes in the bread, so now we just make some on the weekend. We have gone back to the regular bread." The bakery also offers baked breakfast goods consisting of muffins, Danishes, doughnuts and pastries; lunchtime soups, la bon wrap lunches, homemade spaghetti sauces, jelly and salsa. D'Agostino said his business is always changing and expanding and said when his son, Paul, takes over, he may move in a whole new direction. "Just this past year, we have added a deli section to our full-line bakery," he said. "The bakery actually started out as a bakery/deli; however, my grandparents had to decide what they truly wanted to concentrate on and decided to concentrate on the bakery." The bakery has started selling cards and Fitz and Floyd gifts. "Since we are known for our decorated cakes, we thought it would also be a good idea to have gifts and cards to go along with the purchase of the cake," he said. "It's the idea of one-stop shopping, where our customers can come in and have everything they need." D'Agostino said this would be the store's first Christmas and holiday with the gifts, which include everything related to baking. "We'll see how it goes," he said. "We have carousel pieces that are toppings on the cake, and [also] ceramic cookie jars. We eventually want to become known as a celebration store because that is what we are." The bakery also offers hot and cold breakfast, lunch and dinner corporate catering for special occasions. D'Agostino said he recognizes that the demographic of Edison and Woodbridge has changed since his parents opened up the bakery in 1952. "I'm currently in the early stages of talking to some Asian, Korean and Indian bakers," he said. "The only way I see to cater to the changing demographic is to partner with them." For more information about the bakery visit www.labon.com or call (732) 287-1313.